Drive mechanism for use with information cards

ABSTRACT

An information card drive mechanism comprising a pinch roller and a capstan driven by a motor for selectively driving the information card in one of two predetermined directions and at least three switches and an electronic logic circuit for controlling the driving direction of the motor.

[1 3,705,396 [4 1 Dec.5, 1972 United states Patent Nagaki et al.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 541 DRIVE MECHANISM'FOR USE WITHINFORMATION CARDS [72] Inventors: Takehiro Nagaki, Tokyo; Teruo 340/174.G ....340/174. C 9/1966 Handley......................... 1/1967 1/19683,296,605 1/1967 Raddin et al. 3,504,186 3/1970 Feld....................3,276,002

Yamamoto, Kanagawa, both of Japan McDonald et al.

[73] .Assignee: Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan Dykaar et al.

May 27, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 147,546

Primary ExaminerVincent P. Cann [22] Filed:

Curtis, Morris.& Safford Foreign Application Priority Data ABSTRACT Aninformation card drive'mechanism com pinch roller and a capstan driven btively driving the information c Japan prising a y a motor for selecardin one of two predetermined directions and at least three switches andan electronic logic circuit for controllin ing direction of the motor.

. June 5, 1970 ....340/l74.1 C, 235/6112 M [51 int. ....G1lb 19/02 [58]Field of Search ..'.......340/174.1 c; 235/6112 M g the driv- 7 Claims,8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDBEI: 5 m2 sum 1 0F 6 NAVE mm a 8 3 NN w ow m;

INVENTORS. TAKEHI R0 NAGAKI BY V5 4 TERUO YAMAMOTO 'MA,

PATENTED 5 I972 SHEET 2 0F 6 INVENTORS. TAKEHIRO NAGAKI TERUO YAMAMOTOPATENTEDBEI: 5 I972 SHEET 3 0F 6 FIG. 4

INVENTORS.

TAKEHIRO NAGAKI BY TERUO PATENTEDMB 1912 I 3.705.396

sum 6- or 6 I iNvEN'roRs.

TAKEHIRO NAGAKI TERUO YAMAMOTO DRIVE MECHANISM FOR USE WITH INFORMATIONCARDS 1 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of'the Invention I Thisinvention relates to a drive mechanism for use withlinformation cards,and more particularly to such mechanisms which are automaticallycontrolled by the informationcard.

2. Description of the Prior Art In a prior mechanism, the entrance forthe information card is generally formed at one end of a straightpassage. while the exit for the card is at the other end.

The information card is passed straight through by the cooperation of acapstan and a pinchroller. While being passed, a magnetic head recordsinformation signals on the card or reproduces magnetic informationsignals that were previously recorded on the card. In this way, the cardis passed on to the exit. Since the putting-in position and thetaking-out positionof the card lie op-- posite each other, magneticwriting or recording on the card by the operator is difficult. I

In another type of card reading mechanism the card is fully inserted inthe mechanism by hand and then the card is ejected by the cooperation ofa motor driven capstan and a pinchroller. In this type, while the cardis being ejected, the head reproduces or records magnetic 'signals onthe card. Before the card is put into the passage, the distance betweenthe capstan and the pinchroller is kept more than the thickness of thecard. Following the finish of the insertion of the card, this distanceis shortened to pinch the card between the capstan and the pinch rollerand in this way the card is ejected. This type of mechanism thereforeneeds a switching means to switch the capstan-pinchroller ISpacing'Since itis necessary to put the card in the innermost part ofthe passage by hand, the cardis liable to be damaged. It is alsodifficult to maintain the travelling speed of the card at a given speedat the time of recording or playback and moreover tracking error as wellas error in the angle of tracking are liable to happen because ofmalfunctions in the variable capstan-pinchroller spacing mechanism.

SUMMARY OF TIIE INVENTION The present'invention of a drive-mechanism foruse with information cards comprises a card holding frame, motor drivenmeans for inserting and ejecting the infor- I mation'card into and outof the card holding frame,

means for recording or playing back information signalson theinformation card while it is being driven by the'motor driven means, andmeans responsive to the position of the information card within the cardholding frame, including electronic logic means, for

"controlling the operation of the motor driven means,

, in which all the above described defects of prior art mechanisms havebeen improved.

It is another object of this invention to provide a drive mechanism foruse with information cards in which the information cards are passedinto a predetermined position by a drive means and then are taken out byreversingv the drive means from the position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a drive mechanismfor use with information cards in which the forward and reverseoperation of the information cards is automatically done.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a I drivemechanism for use with information cards-in which the position of theinformation cards under driving condition is controlled and the trackingerror between the transducer and the card information track issubstantially eliminated.

It is further object-of this invention to provide a drive mechanism foruse with information cards in which the pressure between the capstan andthe pinch roller driv-' ing the information cards can easily becontrolled.

These and further objects, features and advantages of this inventionwill be more readily apparent upon 5 reading the following detaileddescriptions of certain preferred embodiments of the invention which areto be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TI-IEDRAW INGS FIG. I is a front view of oneembodiment of the invention; I

FIG. 2 is a right side view .of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

motor of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of the output signal waveformsobtained at various points in the circuit diagram shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a reproducing systememployed in this invention;

FIG. 7 is a graphical representation of the signal waveforms obtained atvarious points in the block gram shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a graphical representation of the signal waveforms employed toexplain a detecting system in diathe embodiment in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION or THE PREFERRED I EMBODIMENTS In FIGS. 1 3, mounted on theupper surface of a setting plate 2 of the writing and/or readingapparatus are guide rails 20 andthe interrupted guide rail 21/22extending parallel and spaced apart from each other along thelongitudinal axis of the setting plate 2. These rails are mounted byscrews 24 threaded in the setting plate 2 and passing through oblongholes 23 in the rails so that the rails are adjustable to either theleft or right direction as view in FIG. 3. On the inner sides of theserails 20 and 21/22 are formed longitudinal slits 26 whose height isalmost equal to or slightly more than the thickness of an informationcard or magnetic card 5, for instance 0.1 0.5 mm. The depths of theinnermost part of these slits 26 are such as to accommodate FIG. 3 is aplan view of the apparatus'shown in FIG. I

FIG. 4 is acircuit diagram of the circuit driving the I I the width ofthe magnetic card 5, for instance 55 cm approximately. Thus if themagnetic card 5 is inserted into these slits 26, a front end 8 of .themagnetic card 5 supporting lever 58. The rear end of this lever 58 ispivoted by a shaft 56 supported at both ends by a U- will pass apredetermined locus, namely a passage 30,

guided by the slits 26. On the front ends of slits 26 of guide rails 20and 21 (the left ends as viewed in FIG. 3)

are formed side expansion portions 27 and 28 and i be made, for example,using Mylar'as a base material with itsupper surface having a magneticsubstance layer formed thereon and its lower surface is painted.

On the outer side of the guide rail 22 a recessed portion 19 is formedextending to the slit 26. An elastic roller 17, made of rubber or thelike, is pivoted rotatably in the recessed portion 19. Since the end ofthe inner side of this roller 17 extends slightly into the slit 26, theroller 17 presses elastically upon the side 18 'of the card .5 as itpasses through the passage 30 and thereby reduces tracking error betweenthe record/playback head63 and the card 5.

A space 25 is formed between the rails 21' and 22 near the front end ofthe passage30. The free ends of pivoted levers 31 and 32, which actuatea drive-starting micro switch K and a drive-suspension micro switch Krespectively, extend into the passage 30 from the space 25. The otherends of these levers 31 and 32 are pivotably fitted on the setting plate2 by pins 36 and 37, respectively. Movement of these levers 31 and 32 tothe anticlockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3, actuates the switches Kand K respectively, by striking projecting switch buttons 38a and 38b,respectively.

Near the blind end of the passage 30 a drive-controlling micro switch Kand a ready-for-writing micro switch K are respectively fitted on thesetting plate 2. The ends of a pair of actuating levers 33 and 34 arepivotably fitted on the setting plate 2 by pins 39 and 40, respectively,adjacent the switches K and K respectiyely. Movement of these levers 33and 34 to the anticlockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3 causes them todepress the actuating portions 38c and 38d of switches K and Krespectively. The other ends of levers 33 and 34 extend into the passage30 from the blind end.

- tion of the front end 8 of the card 5.

A D.C. motor M is fixed on the bosses 3 and 4 formed on the underside ofthe setting plate. A belt 7 engages a motor pulley 6 of the motor. M andan intermediate pulley of large diameter thatis p pivotably fitted onthe setting plate 2 through a plate 12. The pulley10 is moulded as asingle unit with an intermediate pulley 11 of smaller diameter. A belt13 engages pulley 11'and also engages a pulley 14 pivotably fitted onthe setting plate 2 through an adaptor plate 15.

On a shaft 16 of the pulley 14 is fixed a capstan 41 provided with arubber coated surface, or the like. Directly above this capstan 41, asviewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pinch roller 42, having a rubber coatedsurface or the like, which is mounted by a shaft 43 in a pair of arms 59and 60 formed on the front end of a U-shaped shaped plate 55 fitted onthe setting plate 2.

The shaft 43 is so arranged that the vertical position of the pinchroller 42 can be controlled by a pressure adjusting means consisting ofa control lever 44, a screw 45, a projecting rod 46 and a coil spring47. One end of the shaft 43 is inserted into a piping portion 49 formedat an intermediate portion of the control lever 44. An arcshaped frontend portion 50 of the lever 44 is placed on a supporting plate 48 fixedby screws to the guide rails 21 and 22. A hole 51 formed in the lever 44between the front end portion 50 and the piping portion 49 is penetratedby the projecting rod 46 with its lower end being fixed on thesupporting plate 48. A repulsion coil spring 47 carried by the projectedrod 46 exists between the suspension portion 46a formed on the upper endof the projected rod 46 and the lever 44. This arrangement elasticallypresses the front end portion 50 of the lever 44 against the supportingplate 48.

A screw 45 is threaded in the rear end of the lever 44. v

The lower end of the screw 45 is pressed upon the supporting plate 48because of the repulsion strength of FIG. 2, making the front endportion 50 a fulcrum. By

this movement, one end of the shaft 43 is caused to be depressed orraised. Because the shaft 43 is supported by a pair of arms 59 and 60 ofthe pivoted supporting lever 58, both ends of the shaft 43 depress orraise together, thereby keeping the shaft 43 horizontal.

As the pinch roller 42 is depressed or raised with the shaft 43, thedistance or pressing strength between the capstan 41 and the pinchroller 42 accordingly changes. By adjustment of the screw 45, thedistance or pressing strength can be adjusted at will. In order toprevent the rubber of the pressed portions of the capstan and the pinchroller from getting fatigued while the operation of the apparatus issuspended, the capstanpinch roller spacing is preferably kept greaterthan zero and more preferably between one-fifth to one-third of thethickness of the card 5, for instance 20p. to 200 1. Of course thisspacing lies in the passage 30 and is coplanar with the slits 26 of theguide rails 20 22.

The setting plate 2 is fitted with three magnetic heads 63a, 63b and 63cfor magnetic recording and reproducing and the whole of these threeheads is designated as the head assembly 63. Above this head assembly63, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pressure roller 62 is provided havinga surface coating layer consisting of rubber or the like. The roller 62is supported on a shaft 61 mounted between a pair of arms 59' and 60'formed at the front end portion of a U-shaped supporting lever 57. Therear end portion of this lever 57 is pivotably supported by thesupporting shaft 56. The vertical position of the shaft 61 is controlledin a manner similar to the control of the shaft 43 by a pressureadjusting means comprising an elastically biased control lever 71, ascrew 72 threaded in one end of the lever 71, a projecting rod 73 and acoil spring 74 fitted over the rod 73 to elastically bias the lever 71downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1. The lever 71 is pipe-formed at itsmidsection to receive one end of the shaft 61. Since the shaft 61 ismounted in the pivoted bracket 57, both ends of the shaft are raised andlowered simultaneously.

The distance or pressing strength between the pressure roller 62 and thegap portions 64a, 64b and 64c of the respective heads 63a, 63b and 63ccan be regulated at will by screwing the screw 72 in or out. Thisdistance is desirably the same as that between the capstan 41 and thepinch roller 42 and, as inthe latter case, it is coplanar with the slits26 of the rails 20 -22.

When using the apparatus 1, the magnetic card 5 is first inserted in theslits 26 of guide rails 20 and 21 from the front end of the passage 30.Upon its insertion, the front end 8 of the card 5 touches the actuatinglever 31 to move it to the anticlockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3,whereby the drive-starting switch K turns on.- As shown in furtherdetail hereinafter, this causes the motor M to start running in theforward travelling direction of the card 5. The rotation of the motorshaft is transmitted to the capstan 41 through the motor pulley 6, thebelt 7, the intermediate pulleys 10 and 11, the belt 13, the pulley 14and the shaft 16 respectively whereby the capstan 41 starts turning inthe forward travelling direction of card 5.

When the card 5 reaches the small gap between the pinch roller 42 andthe capstan 41, whose thickness is less than that of the card 5, thepinch roller 42 holds the card 5 jointly with the capstan 41. By thecooperation of capstan 41 and pinch roller 42, the card 5 is sent intothepassage 30 in a forward direction, i.e., to the right as viewed inFIG. 3. The card -5 is likewise put into a small gap between thepressure roller 62 and the gap portion 64a 64c of the heads 63a 63cwhereby the card 5 is pressed in the gap portion 64 by the roller 62 bymeans of repulsion strength of the spring 74.

As the card 5 moves forward in the slits 26, the front end 8 of the card5 touches on the actuating lever 32 to 'move it to the anticlockwisedirection, as viewed in stopper 35, the front end 8 presses theactuating lever 33 to move it to the anticlockwise direction, as viewedin FIG. 3, whereby the drive-controlling switch K is turned on. On thecorner of the front end 8 of the card 5 a notch portion 9 is formed toprevent erasing by mistake. The notch portion 9 can easily be formed,when found necessary, by a mere cutting of a corner of the front end ofthe rectangular card 5. If the notch portion 9 is not formed, the frontend 8 of the card 5 presses the actuating lever 34 to move it to theanticlockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3 whereby the ready for-writingswitch K is turned onalmost simultaneously with the switchK When theswitches K and K turn on, the magnetic record reproducing circuit, in.-cluding the magnetic heads 63, will be switched into a magneticrecording state. When only the switch K turns on, the circuit turns intoa magnetic reproducing or reading state.

When the switch K turns on, as detailed later, the motor M is switchedto start rotating in the reverse travelling direction of the card 5. Thecapstan 41 is thereby caused to start rotating in the oppositedirection, i.e., the reverse travelling direction of the card 5 wherebythe card 5 starts reverse travelling almost simultaneously as its frontend 8 touches the plate stopper 35. During the reverse travelling, thecard 5 is magnetically read or recorded on in accordance with theexistence or nonexistence of the notch portion 9. The pressure roller 62presses the card 5 effectively on the gap portions 64a 640 of the heads63a 63c in order that the magnetic recording or playback operations canbe accomplished accurately.

As the card reverse travels the right side end 18 of the card 5 releasesthe actuating lever 32 whereby the switch K is turned off. When theswitch K is turned off, the motor M suspends its operation, as detailedlater, and the magnetic recording and reproducing circuit turns into anon-actuating state.

In this non-actuating state, the front end 8 of the card 5 is pressedbetween the capstan 41 and the pinch roller 42 and between the headassembly 63 and the pressure roller 62 respectively by the repulsionstrength of the springs 47 and 74. The card 5 can thereafter simply beremoved by hand from the passage 30 whereby the actuating lever 31is'freed from the pressure of the right side 18 of the card 5 andreturns to its original position. The switch K, is then turned off andthe whole mechanism returns to its original state.

Next a description will be made of the electronic logic circuit fordriving the motor M, with particular reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

Each of the switches K K and K is connected in parallel with a separatecapacitor C C and C respectively, to the circuit ground and in serieswith a separate resistor R R and R respectively, to a positive voltagesource such as +4V as illustrated in FIG. 4.

The junction of the resistor R the switch K and the capacitor C isconnected through a capacitor C and along a line A to an input H of aflip-flop circuit FF. The line A is also connected to the cathodeterminal of a diode D The junction is also connected through an inverterN, to a line B which is connected to the cathode terminal of a diode DThe junction of the resistor R the capacitor C and the switch K isconnected through an inverted N to a line C which is connected to thecathode terminal of a diode D The junction of the resistor R thecapacitor C and the switch K is connected through a capacitor C to aline D which is connected to the input H of the flip-flop circuit FF.The line D is also connected to the cathode terminal of a diode D Thediodes D and D have their anodes connected to the anode of a diode D andeffectively constitute an AND gate. The anode of the diode D is alsoconnected through a resistor R to a positive voltage source +4V. Thecathode electrode of the diode D is connected to the base electrode ofan NPN transistor T The collector electrode of the transistor Tisconnected to the positive voltage source +4V and its emitter electrodeis connected to the base electrode of an NPN transistor T v A resistor Ris connected from the base of the transistor T and in series with aresistor R to the negative terminal of the voltage supply. The collectorelectrode of the transistor T is connected to the positive voltagesource +4V and its emitter electrode is conemitter electrode of an NPNtransistor T .The collector electrode of the transistor T is connectedto the positive voltage source +4V. The base electrode of the transistorT is connected to the emitter electrode of an NPN transistor T, and inseries with the resistors R, and R to the negative terminal of thevoltage source; The base electrode of the transistor T is connected tothe junction of the resistors B and R and the base electrode of thetransistor T is connected to the junction of the resistors R, and R Thebase electrode of the transistor T, is connected to the cathodeelectrode of the diode D The anode of the diode D, is connected inseries with a resistor R, to the positive voltage source +4V. The anodeof the diode D is also connected to the anodes of the diodes D, and Dwhich effectively constitute a second AND is positive while the output Hof the other terminal is zero whereby the diodes D, and D are turned offand on, respectively.

When the diodes D, and D are on, the diode D is off i so that thetransistors T,, T, and T,, are all off. As stated above, when the diodesD and D are off and on respectively, the diode D is off so that thetransistors T T and T are all off. When the transistors T T T and T,,are off, no current is supplied to the motor M and therefore the motor Mis stopped.

, When the drive starting switch K, is turned on at time t, thepotential of the intermediate point K between the resistor R, and theswitch K, comes down to zero as shown in FIG. 5 and stays in this stateuntil time t, when the switch K, is turned off. When the potential ofthe point IT, is reduced to zero in this way,

the output B of the inverter circuit N, raises up as shown in FIG. 5 andthe diode D, will be turned off by being reverse biased. The output A inFIG. 5 is differentiated by the condenser C and is added to theinput-output terminal H of the flip-flop circuit FF whereby the outputsof thepair of input-output te: minals H and Hare inverted, as shown inFIG. 5. The H output then rises up and the diode D is turned off bybeing reverse biased. As the H output is reduced to zero, the diode D isturned on. When both diodes D, and D, are turned off the diode D isturned on because it is forward biased. The turning on of diode D, alsoturns on the transistors T,, T, and T As the diodes D, and D, both turnon as aforesaid, the diode D will turn off and the transistors T,, T,and T,, will turn off whereby the motor current is supplied by theseries circuit of:

the plus terminal of the power source the transistor T motor Mtransistor T,, common emitter resistance R and the minus terminal of thepower source (earth).

As the current flows from one terminal E to the other terminal F of themotor M, the motor M runs in its normal, forward direction.

At time the drive-suspension switch K is turngl on and the potential ofthe intermediate point K, between the resistor R and the switch K asshown in FIG. 5, comes down to zero. This state of K will remain untiltime 1., when the switch K is turned off. When the potential of point Kcomes down to zero, the output C of the inverter circuit N will rise upas shown in FIG. 5 and the diode D will be turned off by being reversebiased. Since the diode D, is still on, the diode D will remain off and,as the result, the motor M will keep on running in the forwarddirection.

At a time t,, the drive-controlling switch K, is turned on temporarily,and the potential of the intermediate point K between the resistor R andthe switch K will be temporarily reduced to zero. Because of this, theoutput D in FIG. 5, which is the change in potential of K differentiatedby the condenser C is added to the other input-output terminal H of theflip-flop circuit FF and the outputs of the pair of input-outputterminals H and H of the circuit FF are again inverted. With this inversion the output of the terminal H rises up, thereby reverse biasingthe diode D and turning it off, and the H output becomes zero, toforward bias the diode D and turn it on.

As stated above, when either or both of the diodes D, and D, turn on,the diode D will turn off and the transistors T,, T, and T,, will turnoff. When the diodes D, and D both turn off, the diode D will turn onwhereby the transistors T,, T, and T, will turn on. When the transistorsT and T,, both turn off and the transistors T,, and T both turn on, thecurrent will be supplied to the motor M by the circuit of:

plus terminal of power source transistor T motor M transistor T, commonemitter resistor R,,, minus terminal of power source (earth).

As the current flows from the terminal F to the terminal E of the motorM, the motor M runs in the opposite direction, i.e., in a reversedirection.

At time the drive-suspension switch K is turned off and the potential ofK rises so that the output C of the inverter circuit N will become zero.This causes the diode D to be forward biased and therefore turned on andthe diode D to be turned off. When the diodes D and D are both turnedoff, the motor M will suspend motion as in the situation prior to timet,.

At time 22 the drive-starting switch K, is turned off and the potentialof K, will rise. By this rise, the output B of the inverter circuit N,becomes zero, and the diode D, is turned on by being forward biased. Atthis point the whole mechanism is returned to its original state.

W and CH in FIG. 5 show the outputs of diodes D, and B, respectively.FIG. 4 shows the preferred embodiment where a semiconductor switch wasemployed but in other embodiments a relay contact may also be employedin place of the semiconductor switch.

Up to now the description has only been as to the driving of theinformation card. With reference now particularly to FIG. 6 adescription of the reproducing of information signals recorded on theinformation card will be made next. The recording of information signalson the information card is made at the option of the operator under thereverse travelling condition of the card and a detailed description ofthe recording will be omitted.

. The heads 63a and 63b pass information signals while the head 63cpasses check signals. The check signals are combined electronically withthe information signals and are used for detecting to see if a correctrecording has been made on one of the two information tracks on thecard. The information signals are recorded on two tracts of theinformation card while the check signals are recorded on a third track.

The respective information signals and check signal are designated byreference letters A,, A and A respectively, in FIG. 7 as reproduced bythe heads 63a,

63b and 63c, respectively, as shown in FIG. 6. The reproduced outputsignals are respectively amplified by amplifiers 102a, 102b and 102c areeach further amplified by the amplifying and phase inverting circuits103a, 103b and 103a, respectively, to produce the outputs designated asB,, B and B,,, respectively, in FIG. 7 on channels 104a, 104b and 104e,respectively. The signals C,, C, and C which represent thephase-inverted form of the signals 8,, B and B are produced by thecircuits 103a, 103D and 103c on their output channels 105a, 1051) and105C, respectively. These phase-inverted signals are obtained by takingthe phasereversed voltage from, for example, the emitter and collectorof an amplifying transistor.

The negative going pulses are extracted from the output waveforms E,, B,and B and their inverted waveforms C,, C, and C, by the monostablemultivibrator circuits 106a, 106b, and 1060 connected to the outputchannels l04a-I05a, l04b-l05b and 1040-1050, respectively. For example,the pulse train D, is derived from the output waveform B, and itsinverted waveform C, while the pulse train D is derived from the headoutput waveform B and its inverted waveform C, and the pulse train D isderived from the head output waveform B, and its inverted waveform C Andthese pulses are added to the monostable mul tivibrator.

The output waveforms of the multivibrator circuits 106a, 106b and 1066are E,, E and E respectively as seen in FlG. 7. The output waveforms E,and E correspond to the signals detected from the information signaltracks and the signals E, and E, are fed to the output circuits 107a and107b, respectively, which process or otherwise utilize the signals.

The output waveforms E, and E, are also added, together with the signalE,,, to an OR circuit 108 from which an OR output waveform F isobtained. In the waveform F, a train of pulses is formed in which apulse is generated at predetermined intervals on each bit. Because therise portion of each pulse of the OR output waveform F is of the samephase as that of the output waveforms E,, E, and E,, of the monostablemultivibrators 106a, l06b and 106C, it is not suitable for a clockpulse.

The output of the OR circuit 108 is further added to a delay circuit 109so-that its output waveform G is slightly delayed as compared with theOR output waveform F. The output waveform G is suitable for use as aclock pulse. However, in this embodiment the output waveform G of thedelay circuit 109 is further added to a phase inverting circuit 110 toproduce a phase-inverted waveform H from the waveform G. The output H isused to trigger a monostable multivibrator 111. A clock pulse waveform lis formed by the monostable multivibrator 111. The clock pulse waveforml is added to the clock pulse circuit 112.

In the above described system the clock signals are generated withoutspecially providing an independent track to record the clock signals onthe magnetic recording medium. A circuit for detecting dropout of theclock is pulse shown in FIG. 8. The output waveform G of the delaycircuit 109 in FIG. 7, functioning as clock pulses, in employed. Withthe fall portion of the pulses in the waveform G the monostablemultivibrator 111 is triggered to form an output waveform J. Theexistence of the waveforms G and J can be ascertained by the passing ofthese waveforms. If there is a dropout of the signals, there is at firsta portion where the pulse doesnt generate the waveforms G of delaycircuit 109. As the result, a pulse will not be generated in the outputwaveforms J of the monostable multivibrator triggered by the fallportion of the waveforms G whereby the dropout will be detected by thecircuit 108 and in accordance with this detection it is possible to givea warning or to suspend the functioning of the apparatus.

Although illustrative embodiments of this invention have been describedin detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to beunderstood that this invention is not limited to these preciseembodiments and that various changes and modifications may be effectedtherein by one skilled in art without departing from the scope or spiritof the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A drive mechanism for use with an information card reading andrecording system comprising a chassis, a pair of parallel guide railsmounted on the chassis for guiding both edges of an information card, astop member mounted on the chassis, the guide rails and the stop membertogether defining a passage having an open end and a blind end toreceive the information card, drive means for selectively driving theinformation card in a forward direction into the passage and in areverse direction out of the passage, the drive means including a motor,a capstan mechanically driven by the motor and rotatably mounted betweenthe guide rails and immediately adjacent to the passage, and a pinchroller, means for resiliently supporting the pinch roller in a parallel,spaced-apart relationship with the capstan to define a substantiallyuniform space therebetween through which the information card is drawnby the co-operative rotation of the capstan and the pinch roller, amagnetic transducer for selectively recording information on the cardand reproducing information from the card, the magnetic transducer beingmounted immediately adjacent to the passage, bias means for depressingthe information card into contact with the magnetic transducer, the biasmeans including a pressure roller and means for resiliently androtatably mounting the pressure roller on the chassis in a parallel,spaced-apart relationship with the magnetic transducer, the spacebetween the pressure roller and the magnetic transducer, the spacebetween the capstan and the pinch roller, and the guide rail slits allbeing coplanar with each other, drive control means including firstswitch means responsive to the insertion of the information card intothe passage and being provided immediately adjacent to the passage andbetween the open end of the passage and the drive means for actuatingthe drive means to drive the information card in the forward direction,second switch means responsive to the movement of the infonnation cardin the passage and located at the blind end of the passage for reversingthe driving direction of the drive means when the information cardreaches the blind end of the passage, third switch means responsive tomovement of the information card in the passage and located immediatelyadjacent the passage and between the drive means and the blind end ofthe passage for deactivating the drive means when the information cardis at a predetermined position in the passage during its travel in thereverse direction whereby a portion of the information card isthereafter resiliently gripped between the capstan and the pinch roller,and fourth switch means located at the blind end of the passage andresponsive to the movement of a select portion of the information cardfor activating the magnetic transducer to record information on the cardduring the card's travel in the reverse direction after the fourthswitch means has contacted the select portion of the card at the end ofthe cards forward travel and for deactivating the recording function ofthe magnetic transducer during the cards travel in the reverse directionin the absence of the select portion of the card.

2. A drive mechanism for use with an information card reading andrecording system comprising a chassis, a pair of parallel guide railsmounted on the chassis for guiding both edges of an information card, astop member mounted on the chassis, the guide rails and the stop membertogether defining a passage having an open end and a blind end toreceive the information card, drive means for selectively driving theinformation card in a forward direction into the passage and in areverse direction out of the passage, the drive means including a motor,a capstan mechanically driven by the motor and rotatably mountedimmediately adjacent to the passage, and a pinch roller, means forresiliently supporting the pinch roller in a parallel, spaced-apartrelationship with the capstan to define a substantially uniform spacetherebetween through which the information card is drawn by theco-operative rotation of the capstan and the pinch roller and to exert asubstantially'constant, uniform pressure on the information card afterits insertion into the passage and before its removal therefrom, amagnetic transducer mounted immediately adjacent to the passage, biasmeans for depressing the information card into contact with the magnetictransducer, the bias means including a pressure roller and means forresiliently and rotatably mounting the pressure roller on the chassis ina parallel, spaced-apart relationship with the magnetic transducer,drive control means including first switch means responsive to theinsertion of the information card into the passage and being providedimmediately adjacent to the passage and between the open end of thepassage and the drive means for actuating the drive means to drive theinformation card in the forward direction, second switch meansresponsive to the movement of the information card in the passage andlocated at the blind end of the passage for reversing the drivingdirection of the drive means when the information card reaches the blindend of the passage, and third switch means responsive to movement of theinformation card in the passage and located immediately adjacent thepassage and between the drive means and the blind end of the passage fordeactivating the drive means when the information card is at apredetermined position in the passage during its travel in the reversedirection whereby a portion of the information card is thereafterresiliently gripped between the capstan and the pinch roller.

3. A drive mechanism as recited in claim 2 wherein the first, second andthird switch means comprise first, second and third normally openswitches, respectively, which are closed upon contact of a sufficientforce with the information card, and the drive control means includeselectronic logic means for activating the motor in the forward andreverse directions and for stopping the motor, the electronic logicmeans including an electronic bistable circuit having at least first andsecond input/output leads for producing two separate, continuous outputsignals which are inverted with respect to each other, the bistablecircuit inverting both of its output signals upon the selectiveapplication of a signal pulse to either of its first and secondinput/output leads, an electronic reversing switch having first andsecond control inputs for supplying current in a forward direction tothe motor when a control signal is supplied to the first control inputand for supplying current to the motor in a reverse direction when acontrol signal is supplied to the second control input, a first AND gatehaving its output connected to the first control input and one of itsinputs connected to the second input/output lead of the bistablecircuit, a second AND gate having its output connected to the secondcontrol input and one of its inputs connected to the first input/outputlead of the bistable circuit, means responsive to the closing of thefirst switch for supplying a signal pulse of relatively short durationupon the initial closing of the first switch to the first input/outputlead of the bistable circuit and for supplying a continuous controlsignal to the other input of the first AND gate as long as the firstswitch is closed, means responsive to the closing of the third switchfor supplying a pulse of a relatively short duration to the secondinput/output lead of the bistable circuit upon the initial closing ofthe third switch, and means responsive to the closing of the secondswitch for supplying a continuous control signal to the other input ofthe second AND gate as long as the second switch is closed.

4. A drive mechanism as recited in claim 2 wherein the guide rails eachhave a longitudinal slit for receiving the information card, the slitsbeing parallel to each other.

5. A drive mechanism as recited in claim 4 wherein one of the rails hasa hollow indentation which extends into the slit in the one rail andfurther including an elastic roller and means for rotatably mounting theroller on the chassis such that it rotates about an axis perpendicularto the longitudinal axes of the slits and extends into the indentationto contact the information card and regulate the position of theinformation card in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travelof the information card.

rails, a shaft having one end fitted in a recess in the lever arm, thepinch roller being rotatably supported by the shaft, means for pivotablymounting both ends of the shaft on the chassis, and adjustable means forresiliently pressing a free end of the lever arm toward the one rail inorder to bias the pinch roller toward the capstan.

1. A drive mechanism for use with an information card reading andrecording system comprising a chassis, a pair of parallel guide railsmounted on the chassis for guiding both edges of an information card, astop member mounted on the chassis, the guide rails and the stop membertogether defining a passage having an open end and a blind end toreceive the information card, drive means for selectively driving theinformation card in a forward direction into the passage and in areverse direction out of the passage, the drive means including a motor,a capstan mechanically driven by the motor and rotatably mounted betweenthe guide rails and immediately adjacent to the passage, and a pinchroller, means for resiliently supporting the pinch roller in a parallel,spaced-apart relationship with the capstan to define a substantiallyuniform space therebetween through which the information card is drawnby the co-operative rotation of the capstan and the pinch roller, amagnetic transducer for selectively recording information on the cardand reproducing information from the card, the magnetic transducer beingmounted immediately adjacent to the passage, bias means for depressingthe information card into contact with the magnetic transducer, the biasmeans including a pressure roller and means for resiliently androtatably mounting the pressure roller on the chassis in a parallel,spaced-apart relationship with the magnetic transducer, the spacebetween the pressure roller and the magnetic transducer, the spacebetween the capstan and the pinch roller, and the guide rail slits allbeing coplanar with each other, drive control means including firstswitch means responsive to the insertion of the information card intothe passage and being provided immediately adjacent to the passage andbetween the open end of the passage and the drive means for actuatingthe drive means to drive the information card in the forward direction,second switch means responsive to the movement of the information cardin the passage and located at the blind end of the passage for reversingthe driving direction of the drive means when the information cardreaches the blind end of the passage, third switch means responsive tomovement of the information card in the passage and located immediatelyadjacent the passage and between the drive means and the blind end ofthe passage for deactivating the drive means when the information cardis at a predetermined position in the passage during its travel in thereverse direction whereby a portion of the information card isthereafter resiliently gripped between the capstan and the pinch roller,and fourth switch means located at the blind end of the passage andresponsive to the movement of a select portion of the information cardfor activating the magnetic transducer to record information on the cardduring the card''s travel in the reverse direction after the fourthswitch means has contacted the select portion of the card at the end ofthe card''s forward travel and for deactivating the recording functionof the magnetic transducer during the card''s travel in the reversedirection in the absence of the select portion of the card.
 2. A drivemechanism for use with an information card reading and recording systemcomprising a chassis, a pair of parallel guide rails mounted on thechassis for guiding both edges of an information card, a stop membermounted on the chassis, the guide rails and the stop member togetherdefining a passage having an open end and a blind end to receive theinformation card, drive means for selectively driving the informationcard in a forward direction into the passage and in a reverse directionout of the passage, the drive means including a motor, a capstanmechanically driven by the motor and rotatably mounted immediatelyadjacent to the passage, and a pinch roller, means for resilientlysupporting the pinch roller in a parallel, spaced-apart relationshipwith the capstan to define a substantially uniform space therebetweenthrough which the information card is drawn by the co-operative rotationof the capstan and the pinch roller and to exert a substantiallyconstant, uniform pressure on the information card after its insertioninto the passage and before its removal therefrom, a magnetic transducermouNted immediately adjacent to the passage, bias means for depressingthe information card into contact with the magnetic transducer, the biasmeans including a pressure roller and means for resiliently androtatably mounting the pressure roller on the chassis in a parallel,spaced-apart relationship with the magnetic transducer, drive controlmeans including first switch means responsive to the insertion of theinformation card into the passage and being provided immediatelyadjacent to the passage and between the open end of the passage and thedrive means for actuating the drive means to drive the information cardin the forward direction, second switch means responsive to the movementof the information card in the passage and located at the blind end ofthe passage for reversing the driving direction of the drive means whenthe information card reaches the blind end of the passage, and thirdswitch means responsive to movement of the information card in thepassage and located immediately adjacent the passage and between thedrive means and the blind end of the passage for deactivating the drivemeans when the information card is at a predetermined position in thepassage during its travel in the reverse direction whereby a portion ofthe information card is thereafter resiliently gripped between thecapstan and the pinch roller.
 3. A drive mechanism as recited in claim 2wherein the first, second and third switch means comprise first, secondand third normally open switches, respectively, which are closed uponcontact of a sufficient force with the information card, and the drivecontrol means includes electronic logic means for activating the motorin the forward and reverse directions and for stopping the motor, theelectronic logic means including an electronic bistable circuit havingat least first and second input/output leads for producing two separate,continuous output signals which are inverted with respect to each other,the bistable circuit inverting both of its output signals upon theselective application of a signal pulse to either of its first andsecond input/output leads, an electronic reversing switch having firstand second control inputs for supplying current in a forward directionto the motor when a control signal is supplied to the first controlinput and for supplying current to the motor in a reverse direction whena control signal is supplied to the second control input, a first ANDgate having its output connected to the first control input and one ofits inputs connected to the second input/output lead of the bistablecircuit, a second AND gate having its output connected to the secondcontrol input and one of its inputs connected to the first input/outputlead of the bistable circuit, means responsive to the closing of thefirst switch for supplying a signal pulse of relatively short durationupon the initial closing of the first switch to the first input/outputlead of the bistable circuit and for supplying a continuous controlsignal to the other input of the first AND gate as long as the firstswitch is closed, means responsive to the closing of the third switchfor supplying a pulse of a relatively short duration to the secondinput/output lead of the bistable circuit upon the initial closing ofthe third switch, and means responsive to the closing of the secondswitch for supplying a continuous control signal to the other input ofthe second AND gate as long as the second switch is closed.
 4. A drivemechanism as recited in claim 2 wherein the guide rails each have alongitudinal slit for receiving the information card, the slits beingparallel to each other.
 5. A drive mechanism as recited in claim 4wherein one of the rails has a hollow indentation which extends into theslit in the one rail and further including an elastic roller and meansfor rotatably mounting the roller on the chassis such that it rotatesabout an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the slits andextends into the indentation to coNtact the information card andregulate the position of the information card in a directionperpendicular to the direction of travel of the information card.
 6. Adrive mechanism as recited in claim 2 wherein the pressure roller andthe pinch roller are each provided with separate, adjustable means forregulating the pressure which they assert against the information card.7. A drive mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the pressureregulating means of the pinch roller comprises a lever arm having oneend pivoted on one of the rails, a shaft having one end fitted in arecess in the lever arm, the pinch roller being rotatably supported bythe shaft, means for pivotably mounting both ends of the shaft on thechassis, and adjustable means for resiliently pressing a free end of thelever arm toward the one rail in order to bias the pinch roller towardthe capstan.